SC.912.E.6.5 Describe the geologic development of the present day oceans and identify commonly found features.

SC.912.E.6.5

Describe the geologic development of the present day oceans and identify

commonly found features.  

• Earth Structures - The scientific theory of plate tectonics provides the framework for much of modern geology. Over geologic time, internal and external sources of energy have continuously altered the features of Earth by means of both constructive and destructive forces. All life, including human civilization, is dependent on Earth's internal and external energy and material resources.  

• SC.D.1.4.4: AA (Assessed as F.2.4.3) The student knows that Earth’s systems and organisms are the result of a long, continuous change over time.

SC.D.1.4.3: CS The student knows that changes in Earth’s climate, geological activity, and life forms may be traced and compared. MC

SC.912.E.6.5 Describe the geologic development of the present day oceans and identify commonly found features. S

• 14.2 Ocean Floor Features• Online Field Trips• Chapter Quiz• Study Guide Summary (PowerPoint presentation)• Web Quest: Where Would You Take an ROV?• Web Resources

– The Vast World Ocean: Links on oceans– Ocean Floor Features: Links on ocean floor features– Resources from the Seafloor: Links on ocean resources

• Animations

QUESTIONSAccording to the plate tectonic theory, when oceanic plates collide with

continental plates, the denser oceanic plate is forced under the lighter continental plate. Which geologic feature is a result of this type of collision?

• F. hot spot • G. abyssal plain • H. midocean ridge • I. composite volcano

DAY 1

• What are the three main regions of the ocean floor?

• How do the continental margins in the Atlantic Ocean differ from those in the Pacific Ocean?

Key Vocabulary

• Continental margin– Zone of transistion between continent and

adjacent ocean

• Ocean Basin Floor– Between the continental margin and mid-ocean

ridge

• Mid-Ocean Ridge– Found near the center of most ocean basins

Label the three main regions:Continental Margin, Ocean basin Floor, Mid-

Ocean Ridge

Mapping the Ocean Floor

14.2 Ocean Floor Features

The ocean floor regions are the continental margins, the ocean basin floor, and the mid-ocean ridge.

Continental Margins

14.2 Ocean Floor Features

In the Atlantic Ocean, thick layers of undisturbed sediment cover the continental margin. This region has very little volcanic or earthquake activity.

A continental margin is the zone of transition between a continent and the adjacent ocean basin floor.

Atlantic Continental Margin

Continental Margins In the Pacific Ocean, oceanic crust plunges

beneath continental crust. This force results in a narrow continental margin that experiences both volcanic activity and earthquakes.

14.2 Ocean Floor Features

Submarine Canyons

The continental margin is the underwater edge of a

continent. It includes the continental shelf, continental

slope, and continental rise, as well as submarine

valleys and canyons.

VOCABULARYThe Continental Margin

Lithosphere

Oceanic crustContinental crust

Sediment

Continental shelf

Continental rise

Abyssal plain

Continental slope

Continental margin

continental shelf

continental slope

continental rise

submarine canyon

DAY 2

• How do the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean differ?

Ocean Basin Floor

14.2 Ocean Floor Features

The ocean basin floor is the area of the deep-ocean floor between the continental margin and the oceanic ridge.

• Trenches form at the sites of plate convergence where one moving plate descends beneath another and plunges back into the mantle.

Deep-Ocean Trenches

Ocean Basin Floor

14.2 Ocean Floor Features

Abyssal Plains• An abyssal plain is a very level area of the deep-ocean floor,

usually lying at the foot of the continental rise.

• The sediments that make up abyssal plains are carried there by turbidity currents or are deposited as suspended sediment settles out.

Seamounts and Guyots• A seamount is an isolated volcanic peak that rises at least 1000

meters above the deep-ocean floor, and a guyot is an eroded, submerged seamount.

Abyssal Plain Cross Section

The Ocean Basin

Coral reefs can form around volcanic islands. As the

islands sink with the ocean crust, rings of coral are

left behind which continue to grow, forming barrier

reefs and atolls.

Barrier Reef Atoll

How would a profile of the pacific Ocean basin differ from the profile of the Atlantic Ocean?

DAY 3

What is formed at the mid-ocean ridge?

Create a Venn Diagram to compare/ contrast the two.

Mid-Ocean Ridges

Ocean Floor Features

A mid-ocean ridge is found near the center of most ocean basins. It is an interconnected system of underwater mountains that have developed on newly formed ocean crust.

Seafloor Spreading• Seafloor spreading is the process by which plate tectonics

produces new oceanic lithosphere at ocean ridges.

• New ocean floor is formed at mid-ocean ridges as magma rises between the diverging plates and cools.

Mid-Ocean Ridges

14.2 Ocean Floor Features

Hydrothermal Vents• Hydrothermal vents form along mid-ocean ridges. These are

zones where mineral-rich water, heated by the hot, newly-formed oceanic crust, escapes through cracks in the oceanic crust into surrounding water.

What is formed at the mid-ocean ridge?

Create a Venn Diagram to compare/ contrast the two.

DAY 4

• FCIM Quiz